Sweepr, the Ireland-based creator of a support platform for connected homes, has disclosed that one of the investors in the $9m series A round it announced in October 2019 was e-commerce and home device group Amazon’s Alexa Fund, Silicon Republic reported on Monday. Venture capital fund Draper Esprit led the round, which included Frontline.vc, also a participant in the $2.7m seed round the company closed in 2018.
Networking technology provider Sterlite Technologies has agreed to acquire a 12.8% stake in Israel-based virtualised radio access network (RAN) technology developer Asocs for an undisclosed amount, Business Standard reported yesterday. The investment will be made through subsidiary Sterlite Global Venture (Mauritius). Asocs had raised $25m in 2013 and added $10m in 2017 from Fornaciari Trust, existing backer Taylor Frigon Capital Management and undisclosed new investors, according to Calcalist.
Tin Shed Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle formed by outdoor apparel provider Patagonia, led an $8m series A round yesterday for Tyton BioSciences, the US-based developer of an advanced fashion recycling system. The round included Marubeni America, a subsidiary of trading group Marubeni, along with Card Sound Capital and Alante Capital. It will fund the upscaling of Tyton’s technology as it prepares for commercialisation.
Rezilion, the Israel-based developer of a workload-protection software platform, launched last month with $8m in series A funding from investors including Samsung Next, a corporate venturing vehicle for consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung. The round was led by VC fund Jerusalem Venture Partners and also featured Kindred Capital, LocalGlobe and angel investors including Ron Zuckerman and Guy Schory. The company will hire more sales and support staff in the US while boosting its home-grown research and development activities.
US-based medical transportation services provider Kaizen Health closed a series B round of undisclosed size led by UnityPoint Health Ventures, the strategic investment arm of healthcare provider UnityPoint Health, on Wednesday. The round included Lewis and Clark Ventures and Hyde Park Angels, both of which had contributed to a $3.8m series A round in mid-2018 that also featured medical transport provider MTM, Ekistic, Acumen and Impact Engine.
Cluster, the Japan-based operator of a virtual live entertainment platform, raised ¥830m ($7.6m) on Monday from KDDI Open Innovation Fund and 31Ventures, subsidiaries of telecommunications firm KDDI and real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan, as well as broadcaster TV Asahi and Wright Flyer Live Entertainment, a virtual reality-focused subsidiary of mobile game publisher Gree. It had previously raised a total of $5.9m as of a $3.6m series B round featuring KDDI, XTech Ventures and Global Brain in September 2018.
Gradient Ventures, internet technology provider Google’s artificial intelligence-focused fund, has led a $7m series A round for TypingDNA, the US-based creator of an authentication system that identifies users through the way they type. GapMinder Venture Partners, Techstars Ventures and unnamed existing investors also took part in the round, which follows an undisclosed amount from Gecad Ventures and various angel investors in 2016 and $1.5m in a GapMinder-backed seed round in January 2019.
FabHotels, the India-based budget hotel chain operator backed by chipmaker Qualcomm, has agreed almost Rs 400m ($5.6m) in funding from investment bank Goldman Sachs, VC firm Accel and boutique VC fund RB Investments at a valuation of approximately $119m, VCCircle has reported. It had raised a total of $42.8m from Qualcomm’s corporate VC unit, Qualcomm Ventures, as well as Goldman Sachs, Accel and Aarin Capital as of June 2019.
Progentec, a US-based developer of diagnostics technology and digital medicine for autoimmune diseases, closed a $5m series A round on Wednesday featuring medical research and care provider Mayo Clinic and healthcare services firm NMC Health. It was co-led by Plains Venture Partners, Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund and Oklahoma Angel Capital Fund II, and included OCA Ventures, Stanford University, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Burns & Stowers Investments. Progentec last raised funding in a round backed by Mayo Clinic and NMC in late 2018.
China-based biopsy technology developer TaiLai Biosciences has received an eight-figure reniminbi (RMB10m = $1.4m) amount of funding in a pre-series A round that included hospital inspection services provider Kindstar Global, 36Kr reported today. The round also featured Ruifu Medical Health Fund, likely a subsidiary of cell engineering services provider Ruifu Biological Medicine Science and Technology.
Atta, the Japan-based developer of an intelligent travel management platform, secured approximately ¥300m ($2.8m) on Wednesday in a series A round featuring 31Ventures, recruitment firm Mynavi and Nagoya TV Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of broadcaster Nagoya TV. The corporates were joined by Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s VC unit, as well as Suneight Investment and Sansei Capital Investment, while Global Brain and B Dash Ventures backed the round’s first tranche in March 2019.
Anyflow, the Japan-based developer of a platform that manages software-as-service products, has raised ¥220m ($2m) in a pre-series A round co-led by Globis Capital Partners, an investment vehicle for education services provider Globis, and VC firm Global Brain. The round also featured Coral Capital, the VC fund that provided $190,000 for Anyflow in September 2019 following its incubation within KDDI’s Labo initiative. It has now raised about $2.4m altogether, it said.
Kiyatec, the US-based developer of a platform that predicts the efficacy of cancer drugs, received an undisclosed amount from life sciences VC firm Esperante on Wednesday. The company raised $3m in series B2 funding from laboratory services provider LabCorp and VC firm VentureSouth in May 2019 having previously secured a minimum $3.3m in debt and equity financing from investors including NMT Capital and Upstate Carolina Angel Network since 2012, according to securities filings.
Insurance provider American Enterprise Group has led a $1.75m seed round for Repisodic, the US-based developer of a system that simplifies the process of discharging patients from hospital, MobiHealthNews reported on Monday. The cash will be used to hire additional technology, sales and marketing staff.
Svara, the Indonesia-based creator of an online audio broadcasting app, has received an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from UMG Idealab, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate UMG Group, at a $10m valuation, e27 reported on Monday. It will channel the funding into product development, marketing and the formation of strategic partnerships as it looks to expand from a customer base of about 100 radio stations.
Image processing technology provider Morpho, data analytics services firm Brainpad and security services provider Lac contributed to a funding round of undisclosed size for Japan-based security equipment producer Secure on Wednesday. Real estate investment trust Property Agent also took part, as did financial services firm Toho Bank’s Toho Home Town Dynamic Engagement Support Fund and VC firm I-Nest Capital.
M1neral, a US-headquartered startup working on a cloud-based minerals and royalties transaction platform, raised $1.6m on Tuesday in a funding round co-led by oil and gas services provider Pheasant Energy and investment firm Amnis Ventures. The round included unnamed strategic partners and additional investors.
CESpace, a rental housing provider for office workers that was spun off from recruitment firm Will Group, secured an undisclosed amount from enterprise IT services firm Information Strategic Technology on Monday through a partnership agreement. The company has deployed four concept residences for engineers in the city of Tokyo since 2017.
No New Folk Studio, the Japan-based owner of smart footwear brand Orphe Track, received an undisclosed amount of funding from Asics Ventures, the strategic investment arm of footwear producer Asics, on Wednesday. The company won the audience award at the third batch of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s MUFG Digital Accelerator in 2018 before raising $2.3m from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, brand development group MTG’s MTG Ventures unit, startup services firm Mistletoe and Darma Tech Labs in February 2019, taking its total funding to $3.2m.
Japan-based internet-of-things technology developer Cami & Co raised ¥100m ($910,000) from robotic process automation technology provider RPA Holdings, X Capital and private investor Jirō Kokuryō on Wednesday. The company intends to invest the funding in product development and the strengthening of its manufacturing capabilities.
Employment services firm DIP Corporation invested an undisclosed amount in Caster, the Japan-based creator of intelligent remote-work management platform Caster.biz, on Wednesday. It will channel the funding into business and product development as well as marketing, and had secured a total of at least $6.9m from financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital unit, brokerage firm Daiwa’s Corporate Investment vehicle, Gunosy Capital, World Innovation Lab as of May 2019.
Web and mobile application services firm Coeus Solutions provided $250,000 in seed capital on Wednesday for Screen-IT, a Pakistan startup that helps ride hailing drivers generate income through in-car screens. The investment will support the expansion of Screen-IT’s business from Lahore to other big cities such as Islamabad.
